Adolescent Latino youth are more likely than their White peers to report having ever engaged in sexual intercourse, and yet are less likely to report having used a condom or alternative form of contraception during their last sexual encounter. As a result, Latino adolescents have higher rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), HIV, and unintended pregnancy than their White counterparts. The overall goal of the current research and training fellowship application is prepare the applicant to become an interdisciplinary researcher who can contribute to the reduction of Latino adolescent health disparities in the domains of HIV and teen pregnancy. The specific training goals of this fellowship are: 1) to expand the applicant's knowledge of the sexual and cognitive development of adolescent youth and the sociocultural influences that shape this process for Latinos;2) to increase the applicant's research design and quantitative analysis skills necessary to study contextual influences on Latino adolescent sexual behavior;and 3) to examine whether and how risk images, maternal- adolescent acculturation gaps, and perceptions of discrimination contribute to Latino adolescents'willingness to engage in intercourse with or without barrier or hormonal methods of contraception. To achieve the first aim, the applicant will take courses in adolescent health and development and ethnic and racial diversity in psychology. She will also serve as a teaching assistant for a course on behavioral and psychological approaches to public health and teach a course in health or social psychology. The second aim will be accomplished via continuous engagement in activities that focus on the responsible conduct of research and the completion of statistical courses covering hierarchical linear modeling, structural equation modeling, longitudinal data analysis, and cross cultural research methods. Completion of a doctoral dissertation focusing on Latino adolescent sexual behavior will fulfill the third aim. Using an ecological approach, the dissertation will test developmental, cultural, and mediation models of Latino adolescent sexual behavior in hopes of identifying factors amenable to preventive interventions. The developmental model will explore two developmentally-distinct pathways to Latino adolescent sexual activity: a reasoned pathway (which requires the formation of intentions), and a reactive pathway (which only requires willingness to engage in risky behavior should the opportunity arise). The cultural model will assess the impact of constructs relevant to Latino adolescents on the reactive pathway, including risk images, maternal- adolescent acculturation gaps, and perceptions of discrimination. Finally, both the developmental and cultural models will be combined in a mediation model that includes individual and social determinants of sexual behavior. Findings will be useful in the development of multilevel, theoretically-based HIV and teen pregnancy prevention interventions. The applicant is firmly committed to a research career that will contribute to the understanding and reduction of high STI, HIV, and unintended pregnancy rates among Latino adolescents. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Adolescent Latino youth are more likely than their White peers to have ever engaged in sexual intercourse, and yet are less likely to report having used a condom or alternative form of contraception during their last sexual encounter. As a result, Latino adolescents have higher rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), HIV, and unintended pregnancy than their White counterparts. The goal of this fellowship is to prepare the applicant to become an interdisciplinary researcher who can contribute to the reduction of Latino adolescent health disparities in the domains of HIV and teen pregnancy.